Amsal 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ¹ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ² 

Amsal 4:22

4:22 for they are life to those who find them

and healing to one’s entire body. ³ 

Amsal 10:17

10:17 The one who heeds instruction ⁴  is on the way to ⁵  life,

but the one who rejects ⁶  rebuke goes astray.

Amsal 15:27

15:27 The one who is greedy for gain ⁷  troubles ⁸  his household, ⁹ 

but whoever hates bribes ¹⁰  will live.

Amsal 19:23

19:23 Fearing the Lord ¹¹  leads ¹²  to life, ¹³ 

and one who does so will live ¹⁴  satisfied; he will not be afflicted ¹⁵  by calamity.

Amsal 27:27

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ¹⁶ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ¹⁷  of your servant girls.

[2:19]  ¹ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ² sn The phrase “reach the paths of life” is a figurative expression for experiencing joy and fullness of blessing (BDB 673 s.v. נָשַׂג 2.a).

[4:22]  ³ tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”

[10:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “discipline.” The noun מוּסָר (musar) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “discipline” (so NIV; NAB “admonition”; NCV, NLT “correction”) and (2) “instruction” (BDB 416 s.v.; so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The wise person listens to instruction (first colon); however, the fool will not even take discipline to heart (second colon).

[10:17]  ⁵ tn The term is a genitive of location indicating the goal (IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2f).

[10:17]  ⁶ sn The contrast with the one who holds fast to discipline is the one who forsakes or abandons reproof or correction. Whereas the first is an example, this latter individual causes people to wander from the true course of life, that is, causes them to err.

[15:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “the one who gains.” The phrase בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע (botseakh batsa’) is a participle followed by its cognate accusative. This refers to a person who is always making the big deal, getting the larger cut, or in a hurry to get rich. The verb, though, makes it clear that the gaining of a profit is by violence and usually unjust, since the root has the idea of “cut off; break off; gain by violence.” The line is contrasted with hating bribes, and so the gain in this line may be through bribery.

[15:27]  ⁸ sn The participle “troubles” (עֹכֵר, ’okher) can have the connotation of making things difficult for the family, or completely ruining the family (cf. NAB). In Josh 7:1 Achan took some of the “banned things” and was put to death: Because he “troubled Israel,” the Lord would “trouble” him (take his life, Josh 7:25).

[15:27]  ⁹ tn Heb “his house.”

[15:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “gifts” (so KJV). Gifts can be harmless enough, but in a setting like this the idea is that the “gift” is in exchange for some “profit [or, gain].” Therefore they are bribes (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), and to be hated or rejected. Abram, for example, would not take anything that the king of Sodom had to offer, “lest [he] say, “I have made Abram rich” (Gen 14:22-24).

[19:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[19:23]  ¹² tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and style.

[19:23]  ¹³ tn Here “life” is probably a metonymy of subject for “blessings and prosperity in life.” The plural form often covers a person’s “lifetime.”

[19:23]  ¹⁴ tn The subject of this verb is probably the one who fears the Lord and enjoys life. So the proverb uses synthetic parallelism; the second half tells what this life is like – it is an abiding contentment that is not threatened by calamity (cf. NCV “unbothered by trouble”).

[19:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he will not be visited” (so KJV, ASV). The verb פָּקַד (paqad) is often translated “visit.” It describes intervention that will change the destiny. If God “visits” it means he intervenes to bless or to curse. To be “visited by trouble” means that calamity will interfere with the course of life and change the direction or the destiny. Therefore this is not referring to a minor trouble that one might briefly experience. A life in the Lord cannot be disrupted by such major catastrophes that would alter one’s destiny.

[27:27]  ¹⁶ sn This part of the proverb shows the proper interplay between human labor and divine provision. It teaches people to take care of what they have because it will not last forever.

[27:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”